Exhibitor



April 25, 1933. I H. E. EDVIIARDS EXHIBITOR Filed Oct. 8, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 1 go o | I I l I I I I I l l l I l I I I I I I I I I I I Il I I I April 25, 1933. H. E. EDWARDS EXHIBITOR Filed Oct. 8, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 2 l'iiven 507" W .M, by

Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES HERBERT E. EDWARDS, OF BROOKLINE,MASSACHUSETTS EXHIBITOR Application filed October 8,1932. Serial No.636,875."

The present invention relates to exhibitors.

, In the shoe industry there are a number of commercial pattern concernswhich function to design a shoe and then, if the design is soldto a shoemanufacturer, make the patterns which are used in the commercialmanufacture of the designed shoe. The designs, large'in number, aresubmitted to the manufacturer usually in the show room of the designer,in the form of sketches, carefully and artistically executed,illustrating the designers idea of what the proposed shoes will looklike when finished. These sketches are handed to the shoe manufacturerwho paws them 5 over in an attempt to find some that appeal to himaesthetically or some that he believes would appeal to the customerswith whom he deals. This constant handling soon renders the sketchesunfit for use. Moreover, this method of handling a large number ofloosesketches is apt to force the shoe manufacturer to depend on snap,judgment for his selection, sometimes i with disastrous results. Oftenthe sketches are viewed by a committee so that the danger of selectingan unpopular design may be minimized. Because of. the

large number ofsketches to be handled it is difiicult forthe shoemanufacturer, or his a committee, to concentrate properly 'on the 0features of anyone design.

The principal object of the present invention is to produce an'exhibitorwhich w1ll handle automatically a large number of sketches or otherexhibits and display them successively in a manner allowing the observerto concentratehis attention on the exhibit being displayed.

To the accomplishment of thisobject, and

such others as may appear hereinafter, the

various features of the present invention reside 'in certain devices,combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and thenset forth broadly and in detail in the appended claims whichpossess'a'dvan-.

tages readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The various features of the present inven-' tion will be readilyunderstood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, illustratingthe best form of the invention atpre sent known to the inventor, inwhich,

Figure lis a View in'front elevation;

V Fig. 2 is a view in right side elevation, partly broken away to showinterior construction;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic View of the wiring circuit; v i

Fig. 4: is a view in for narrow exhibits;

' Fig. 5 is a view in sectional'plan .on the line 5-5, Fig. 2; p p 1Fig. 6 is a. view in sectional elevationon the line 66, Fig. 5, and iFig. 7 is a detail viewin right side elevation, partly in section,showing the connections between one of the suction mouths and thedriving shaft therefor. I

Described in general termsv the exhibitor comprises an attractivecabinet which. is placed in the show room of the designer diperspectiveof a holder 60 rectly in front of a shoe manufacturer, or his committee,who look, through a window in the cabinet, into theinterior thereof andobserve the sketch forming theLoutermost one of 5 a plurality ofsketches which are stacked, upended, in a pile on a support withinthecab inet. 1 The outermost sketch in the pile is il-i luminated by anelectric lampcarried by the cabinet which is provided with an electriccircuit adapted to be connected, by a plug in a customary manner, withthe designers lighting circuit.

While the manufacturer observes the outermost sketch in the pile heholds in his hands a motorstarting device, which he op-' crates, whenthe outermost 'sketchhas been g observed-for anyperiod of timethemanufacturer desires, to start an electricmotor which recip-rocates aplurality of suction months into engagement with the outermost sketch inthe pile. After the suction mouths engage the outermost sketch in" thepile, the

mouths are connected to an air-exhausting system with the result thatwhen the mouths. 9 are returned to their original position they withdrawthe sketch, with which they are engaged, from'the pile. When the mouthsreturn to their original position, the motor is stopped automatically,the suction is broken,

and the sketch withdrawn from the pile drops, under the influence ofgravity, into a compartment in the bottom of the cabinet. The succeedingoutermost sketch in the pile may then be observed. If it is one thatdoes not appeal to the manufacturer for any reason the motor startingdevice may be operated and the sketch whisked out ofsight by the suctionmouths. If the succeeding outermost sketch in the pile is one thatappeals to the manufacturer he may observe it as long as he cares tobefore operating the motor starting device. lVhen the manufacturer findsa design he wishes to study minutely before making a decision on itspurchase,"the hood may beswung backwardly-and the coveted designwithdrawn manually from the pile.

Usually the exhibits in the stack illustrate a number of differentstyles, each comprising a number of different designs. For instance, theshoe designer may offer for sale designs for a one-strap shoe,designsfor a pump, and designs for an oxford. It is high 1y desirablethat all the designs for one style be inspected before the designs foranother style are inspected. In using the illustrated embodiment of thepresent invention the designs are stacked originally in a sequence sothat the various styles may be inspected successively; As each design isinspected and rejected it is withdrawn from the pile and transferred toa compartment from which the rejected designs may be removed forpurposes of reexhibition, thus insuring the maintenance reversed, of thesequence of the styles.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings theexhibits are mounted within a hollow cabinet 8 (Figs. 1 and 2) having abottom 9, a removable back 10 (Fig. 5), and two sides 11. The front endsof the sides 11 extend downwardly and forwardly, then horizontally, andthen vertically downward, forming a horizontalledge 12 extend ingcentrally across the frontof the cabinet. The lower portion of thecabinet 8' at its front is closed normally by a door 13 which ishinged'a-t its uppermost longitudinal edge to the bottom of the ledge12. The top edges of the sides 11 carry a fiat plate 14 to the frontedge of which is hinged a reflector hood 15 for an electric lamp 16 theswitch for which isaoperated by a chain 17 in a common manner.

The front edges of the sides 11, above the ledge 12, carry a frame 18apertured to form awindow 19.

' The exhibits are stackedupended in ap'ile, on a horizontal platform 20extending between the sides 11. The innermost exhibit in the pile restsagainst a partition 21 extending laterally between the sides 11 andforwardly and downwardly between the plate 14 and the platform 20. Withthis construction the picture or, design on the exposed face of theoutermost exhibit in the pile may be viewed through the window 19through which it is illuminated from the lamp 16.

In order to withdraw the outermost exhibit from the pile and thus exposeto view another picture or design on the next exhibit in the pile, thecabinet is provided with suction mouths 22 and 23 (Fig. 5) whicl1 may bereciprocated at the will, of the exhibitor into engagement with theoutermost exhibit, placed'under the influence of an air exhaustingsystem, and then reciprocated in a direction to withdraw the outermostexhibit from the pile and position it in suspension clear of theplatform 20 so that when the air eX- hausti'ng system is restored to theinfluence of atmospheric air the months will release the withdrawnexhibit and allow it to drop under the influence of gravity into acompartment 24 from which it may be removed by opening the door 13.dropped into the compartment 24, bec ome stacked upended in a pile thelower edge of which engages the bottom 9 with the inner,- most exhibitin the pile resting against a partition 25 extending downwardly andforwardly, between the sides 11, from the rear edge of the platform 20to the bottom '9.

The left hand mouth 22 (Fig. 5) is carried by the open end of a bentpipe 26, a straight run of which is mounted to slide in a groove 27formed in the left hand side 11. The other month 23 is carried similarlyby a bent pipe 28 havinga straight run mounted to slide in a groove 29in the other side 11. The straight runs of the pipes 26 and 28Qareconnected by a flat plate'30. The rear. ends of the pipes 26 and '28areconnected by flexible tubes 31 and 32, respectively, to the bottom-ofan open-topped cylinder 33 secured to the bottom 9 and one sidell;Mounted to reciprocate in the cylinder 33 is a plunger 34 carried fromthe bottom of a rod 35. The upper end of the rod 35 is pivoted betweenthe yoked end of an arm 36 secured to and projecting rearwardly from ahorizontal shaft 37 journaled at its opposite ends on studs 38-securedto the sides 11. -Pro-. jecting-rearwardly from the shaft 37 isan arm-39which is connected through .a ball and socketjoint toone end of a rod 40the other endof whichis pivoted on a crank pin 41 car ried by a crank42. The crank 42 is secured to one end of a shaft 43.. The shaft 43 isTotated, in a pedestal bearing 44, through a common form of reductiongearing (not shown), by the armature shaftof an electric motor 45supported by a bracket 46 from the. bottom of the cabinet 8. 1 In orderto reciprocate the plate 30 .and thus move the months 22 .and 23 intoengages ment with the outermost exhibit in the pile the plate 30 isprovided with two slots 47 and 48 (Figs. 5 and 7) The ends of each ofthese slots are engaged, respectively, by two leaf Usually, however, theexhibits,

springs 49 and projecting from a collar 51 secured to the shaft 37.

In the illustrated embodiment of the pres ent invention the suctionmonths 22 and 23 move the suction mouths backwardly into engagement withthe outermost exlnbitin the pile. (hen this occurs the springs 50 yieldin order that the suction mouths may engage properly the outermostexhibit in the pile, notwithstanding its thickness. During thebackwardmovement of the suction mouths the plunger 34 is movingdownwardly in the cylinder 33, closing the vent 52 and expelling the,air in the cylinder 33'below the plunger, out throughthe suction mouths.

.When theshaft 37- is oscillated in a direction to elevate the plunger34 in the cylinder 33 it produces a condition of unbalanced pressuretherein with the result that atmospheric air presses the outermostexhibitin the pile firmly into engagement with the suction months whichnow commence to move forwardly towards the position of Fig. 5 removingthe outermost exhibit bodily from the pile. At the time thesuctioni'nouths return to the position of Fig. 5 the vent 52 isuncovered and the suction is broken. As soon as the suction is brokenthe exhibit drops away from the suction mouths and falls through anopening 53 (Fig. 2), between the back edge of the ledge 12 and the frontedge of the platform 20, down into the-compartment 24.

For some exhibits it may be better to operate the motor 45 continuouslyso that the cycle of operations for the suction mouths may be repeatedautomatically. For many.

exhibits, particularly those having elaborate pictures or designs, it ispreferred to confine the movement of the suction mouths to a singlecycle so that the exhibitor may expose to view the outermost exhibit onthe pile as long a period as he may desire before restarting the motorto remove the observed exhibit from the pile.

In order to start the motor 45 one of its terminal wires 54 (Fig. 3) isconnected to a being an insulated plate 63 interposed between the block61 and the bracket 62. The free ends of the leaf springs 59 and 60embrace the opposite faces of an insulated block 64 secured on one endof a stub-shaft 65 ournaled in the bracket 62. The other end of thestub-shaft 65 carries a four-armed starwheel 66.

I Passing through the block 64 is a -metal.

plug 67. When the block 64 is rotated through an angle of ninety degreesthe'free ends of the leaf springs 59 and 60 embrace the opposite endsof'the plug 67 thus connecting the motor 45 to its source of power. Torotate the block 64 and thus start the motor 45, the bracket'62 carriesa bell-crank T lever 68 having an arm positioned toengage one of thearms on the star-wheel 66 when the bell-crank lever 68 is turned on itspivotal connection with the bracket 62. This pivotal connection is notparallel with the shaft 65 so that when thebell crank lever 68 isactuated its star-wheel operating arm will slide 0d the star-wheel tothe left (Fig. 5) after imparting to it a rotation of ninety degrees.

The free end of the vertical arm of the bellcrank lever 68 is positionedto be engaged by one endof a long flexible rod 69 having an operatinghead 70 on its other end. This flexible rod 69, in all respects likethat in use for operating the shutter in a wellknown type of camera, ishoused in a flexible tube 71, there being a coiled spring (not shown) inthe tube 71 surrounding the rod 69 to maintain the head 70 projectedfrom the free end of the tube. The tube 71 is secured in a sleeve 72carried bythe right sidewall 11.

When the head 70 is pushed towards the free end of the tube 71 the freeend of the rod 69 engages the bell-cranklever 68 which rotates-thestar-wheel ninety degrees to position the opposite ends of the plug 67between the free ends of the leaf springs 59 and 60 and thus start themotor 45. As soon as the motor starts the head 70 is released to permitit to return to the position of Fig.1. When the head 70 is releasedthebell-crank lever 68 is restored to the position of Fig. 6 by a spring73 (Fig. 5) coiled about the pivot pin for the bell-orank lever, andhaving its opposite ends engaged with the bell-crank lever and the pivotpin, respectively.

In order to stop the motor automatically at. the end of'one cycle ofmovement of the suction mouths, the shaft 37 carries an arm 74 upon thefree end of which a pawl 75 is pivoted. Normally the pawl 75 is heldengaged with a pin 76 by a leaf spring 77. With this construction thepawl 7 5 yields as it passes on its down stroke the adjacentarm of thestar-wheel 66. On its up stroke the:

pawl 75 engagesithe adjacent arm of the star-wheel 66 and rotates'itninety degrees towithdraw the opposite sides. of the plug 6.7 frombetween the springs 59 and 60 thus stopping the motor with the suctionmouths in the position of Fig. 5 and with the plunger 33 in the positionof Fig. 6.

Merely stacking the exhibits upended in a pile provides means forretaining the pile stationary during the withdrawalof the outermostexhibit therefrom. To insure absolutely the retention ofthe pilestationary during the operation of the suction mouths on the outermostexhibitthereof, the platform 20 is provided with two grooves 78 securingrubber strips 79. These strips 79 engage the bottom edge of the pile andfriction'ally retain it stationary during the withdrawal of theoutermost exhibit therefrom.

If it should be desired to display narrower exhibits they may be stackedin a pile and placed in a tray 80 (Fig. 4) which may be placed inposition on the platform 20 and against the partition 21.

'Nothing herein explained is to be interpreted as limiting the inventionin the scope of its application to use in connection with shoe designsor with the particular apparatus or the particular mode of operationselected for purposes of illustration and explanation. While theparticulars of construction herein set forth are well suited to onemechanical form of the invention, it is not limited to these details ofconstruction, nor to the conjoint use 'of all its features, nor is it tobe understood that these'particulars are essential since they may bemodified with in the skill of the, artisan without departing from thetrue scope of the actual inventions, characterizing features of whichare set forth in the following claims by the intentional use of genericterms and expressions inclusive of various modifications.

IVhat is claimed'as new, is: 1. In an exhibitor, the combination withmeans for supporting a plurality of exhibits stacked, upended, in apile, means for exposing to view the outermost exhibit in the pile, andautomatic means for withdrawing bodily the outermost exhibit from thepile, of

means for retaining the pile stationary dur-.

pile for withdrawing the outermost exhibit therefrom. V

4:. In an exhibitor, the combination with a support for a plurality ofexhibits stacked, upended, in a pile, and means normally open tothe-atmosphere, of mechanism for reciprocating said means intoengagement with the outermost exhibit in the pile, for exhaustingautomatic means for throwing said mechav nism out of operation at theend of its cycle.

6. In an exhibitor, the combination With means for supporting aplurality of exhibits stacked, upended, in a pile, a plurality ofsuction mouths for withdrawingthe outermost exhibit in the piletherefrom, and power means for reciprocating the mouths into engagementwith the outermost exhibit in the pile, of yielding means interposed inthe connections between the power means and the suction mouths.

In testimony whereof 'I have signed my name to this specification.

HERBERT E. EDWVARDS. I

iio

ing the withdrawal of the outermost'exhibit therefrom. I

2. In an exhibitor, the combination with a cabinet having upper andlower compartments normally open and closed, respectively, means forsupporting in the upper compartment a plurality of exhibits stackedloosely in a pile, and means for withdrawing the outermost exhibit inthe pile therefrom and transferring the withdrawn exhibit to the lowercompartment, of means forretaining the pile stationary during thewithdrawal of the outermost exhibit therefrom.

8. In an exhibitor, the combination with means for supporting aplurality of exhibits stacked, upended, in a pile, of suction meansengageable with the outermost exhibit in the

